Less Nagging, More Shagging

Peter Story brings 'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus' to life

The lights dimmed to black. A near sell-out crowd went silent as a video started to play. The introduction set the tone for a night of chuckles and bursts of laughter.

An upbeat classic rock song began as the lights rose on a dancing Peter Story. The highly energetic “resident Martian” captured the audience from the start with his quick wit and punny humor. Story attempted to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between men and women.

Story described a date night to which many couples could relate. He mimed through the preparation process humming the "Mission Impossible" theme song. Their night at the opera included a comment that one of the largest women he had ever seen seemed to be singing “the Olive Garden menu,” which earned him a jab in the ribs from his wife.

Story described the scene at dinner where he excitedly caught the last few seconds of the Oklahoma City Thunder game at the bar. His wife was not happy. “I’m glad you can have more fun with a stranger than me,” Story mocked in a female voice.

Story asked the audience who all had been married for 10, 20 and 30 years by rounds of applause. The clapping grew fainter with each level.

Picking on a couple in the first row who had been married for 33 years, Story re-enacted their 10th anniversary — one in which the husband “probably forgot.” He described what is known as “guilt charades” when your spouse is upset, but you have no idea why, so a game of charades ensues.

He then showed a video by John Gray, author of the book "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus," showing the chemical aspect of men and women’s brains through hilarious animations.

Relating to the book on several occasions, Story spoke about the four words that describe what men and women need. Men need trust and approval, while women need attention and understanding. An easy to way to remember these is AU is the abbreviation for gold on the Periodic Table of Elements. While men simply need T and A. “I told you I’d make it simple for you guys,” Story said.

After intermission, Story returned to the stage, this time dancing to Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies.”

“You want to live with someone who’s happy?” Story asked. “Don’t live with a woman, live with a dog.”

Story related the friction between mena dn women to the surf.

“When it is low tide, everything is calm and you can see far out,” Story said. “But when that tsunami comes, I’ve got four steps to deal with it.”

He said a tsunami happens when his wife comes home after a long day at work and talks about quitting. His first step was trying to fix it. Helping her look at jobs through Monster.com was not a fix.

Second, he tried to calm her down, which lead to more arguing. Third, he put the blame on her. “Is it that time of the month?” Story asked. This step should never be used.

Finally, “get the hell out” was his fourth step. Or he would sit back and embrace the waves.

A video detailed point scoring between men and women. Men get 1 point, whether it’s a big act of love or a little one. Women, however, get a point for every little detail of the act that they do: picking out dinner, buying the food for it, cooking it, serving it, etc. Men get a point for going to work and coming home from work, along with anything else they do counting as one.

“By this time, the score is 3 to 33,” John Gray narrated. “Which in her mind calculates to 0 to 30.”

Story's main theme for the show was “less nagging, more shagging.”

For a healthy sex life, Story prescribed “surprises,” such as starting in different areas and “prep time.” He said, “It's all about location, location, location.”